Media Education Practices in Portugal. A Panoramic View

Portugal has witnessed an increased dynamism in the field of media education in recent years, as a result of incentives from international bodies such as UNESCO, and more especially European ones, not only through the Recommendation of the European Council in 2009 and the European Parliament, but also as a result of a strong impetus from both civil society and academia1. Several relevant initiatives, launched by public, private and civil bodies includ- ing the academic world (Pinto, Pereira, Pereira & Ferreira, 2011; Ponte & Jorge, 2010), have contributed to remarkable progress, especially if we bear in mind the historic delay caused by the dictatorship that lasted until 1974, which was characterized by media censorship as well as low levels of schooling. In this chapter, we offer a general panoramic view of the field of media edu- cation projects in the past two decades, targeted mostly at children and young people. We present some of the projects that have been regarded as good exam- ples, considering the parameters that were defined, namely their longevity and impact, or their innovation in encouraging youth participation, for instance. In this overview, we will report on the different social agents involved in the field of media education, making projects for different audiences and with different philosophies and methodologies, in the context of both formal and informal edu- cation; but we will also document the main deficiencies in this field. More than a picture of the Portuguese reality, we present some of the best frames of a movie whose plot has been enriched in recent years, but which is still far from over.